


Lifeguard AU, I suppose

by feminabeata, fleurdesaison, negiramen, Shuensha



Series: Guess the author writing challenge [2]
Category: INFINITE (Band)
Genre: Cheese overdose, Female Lee Sungjong, Less metaphorical eating, Lifeguards, M/M, Metaphorical eating, Some Description of Violence, Surfing, beach, guys we actually love woohyun we swear, injuries, it gets sadder, part of the damn it sunggyu saga, special inexplicit banging, woogyu being a mess, you'd think that was one of the prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:22:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27284122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminabeata/pseuds/feminabeata, https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurdesaison/pseuds/fleurdesaison, https://archiveofourown.org/users/negiramen/pseuds/negiramen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shuensha/pseuds/Shuensha
Summary: Another guess the author challenge!5 takes on "A is checking out B on the beach (/at the pool), one of them is a lifeguard." by negiramen, fleurdesaison, feminabeata and shuensha (the lit sensation "Four authors, five stories" lmao)
Relationships: Kim Sunggyu/Nam Woohyun
Series: Guess the author writing challenge [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1475504
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	1. Shark Attack

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, survivors of the great inspirit fanfiction famine. It is I again, Madalina (Shuensha) talking because I am apparently the AO3 technical engineer of these challenges. So like I promised (last year) there is a new challenge for this collection, and this time onion noodle soup and I are also joined by Dr Kate, author extraordinaire & dadgyu enthusiast, and queen of kilometrical slow builds (and myungyeol, but she's a notorious cheater as this is obviously a woogyu challenge), fleurdesaison. This challenge will have 5 stories because some of us just have a lot to give to this community (thank you, we need it) and they will be posted weekly to give you some time to speculate who is the author. The conditions of the challenge were a) a lifeguard (or more??) b) some checking out is happening, but it appears that those won't be the only prompts these stories will have in common (some things just happen).  
> Enjoy and comment with your guesses and speculations! If your theory changes by the end you can always update it in the next chapters, hint hint.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nam Woohyun is on the hunt ... for love.

Nam Woohyun was often described as a herbivore, a handsome and kind man that had no interest in dating. Girls had often tried to catch his eye and become close to him, but he only let them in as far as the “friend zone.” Most girls would leave that zone and him after they realized their efforts to make him theirs was in vain. A few stayed in the friend zone happily because having Nam Woohyun as a friend was better than not having him at all.

Because it had been years since a lucky girl was able to cross over the boundary of the friend zone into “significant other territory,” a rumor started buzzing around social circles: Nam Woohyun must be gay. That had to be it! He had no real interest in dating girls! And that rumor grew and grew until it emboldened a few men, who tried to seduce Woohyun and claim him. But those men found themselves in the same frustrating place as all of the girls before: the friend zone.

So women and men both concluded in hushed whispers behind Woohyun’s back: the man must be an herbivore. 

Except they were wrong. Woohyun wasn’t an herbivore. He wasn’t straight nor gay either. He was a shark.

Sharks do not “feed” very often. They become easily satisfied with a large “meal” and do not have to eat for a long while. And Woohyun wasn’t an ordinary shark. He was a tiger shark. When he was hungry, he would eat anything and everything. Women, men, license plates, it didn’t matter. If he was “hungry,” he would take that person and devour her/him, metaphorically of course.

But currently, Nam Woohyun was feeling both metaphorically and physically hungry, as he sat up in his lifeguard tower, watching the minnow-like people mill about the shore. One “minnow” in particular caught his eye, and he happened to be eating a sandwich. Woohyun didn’t know which he was drawn to more: the man or his long, thick sandwich.

“Yah,” a voice called up to Woohyun from the bottom of the tower. It was Lee Sungyeol, of course, perpetually Woohyun’s sidekick in life (and in these stories). “You’re supposed to be watching the whole beach, not just one person!”

“I’m keeping an eye out,” Woohyun insisted, but his eye remained on the same man. He watched the sandwich pass through the man’s red lips, the teeth sink in, and the adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed. And Woohyun swallowed along with him. 

“You know him?” Sungyeol asked. He was leaning against the lifeguard tower now and studying the same group of minnows that Woohyun was.

“No,” Woohyun replied. He looked down at his friend. “Do you?”

Sungyeol winced at the thought of knowing the sandwich guy. “No, and I don’t want to.” He sneered and gestured over at him. “Who goes to the beach dressed like that?”

“He does, apparently,” Woohyun mumbled. Sungyeol was too quick to judge. Yes, it was weird that the sandwich man was more interested in eating than in the waves. And typical beach-wear does not include dress slacks, shiny shoes, and a white button-down with a tie hanging loosely from the neck. But he was sitting alone, surrounded by three other chairs, and waving at three young men splashing each other in the sea. Those must’ve been his friends who dragged the man to the beach. The man obviously had no plans of getting into the water with them. Heck, he probably had no plans of going to the beach this afternoon at all. Yet here he was.

Chance had led him right into shark territory. Poor unfortunate soul.

“And that turns you on?” Woohyun felt a large smile on his face right when Sungyeol asked that question. He quickly tucked in his lips and shook his head. Sungyeol only stared at him with his intense, owl-like eyes. And eventually Woohyun yielded with a nod. Sungyeol sputtered into a laugh. “You’re a strange one. I haven’t seen you this attracted to someone else…fuck, I can’t even remember.”

“I can’t predict my heart any better than you can,” Woohyun remarked with a listless sigh. The hunger strikes when it wants, where it wants.

Sungyeol didn’t understand it, or his friend. “Cheesy bastard,” he cursed with a click of his tongue. His judging stare went from his friend to the businessman on the beach, who now wasn’t alone anymore. The suit’s friends came up from the water to join him, skin glistening in the sun, showing every curvature of their bodies. Sungyeol whistled lowly. “Now I wouldn’t mind getting to know him,” he whispered loudly up to Woohyun. He pointed to one of the friends whose long black hair covered most of his face but what bit of it that you could see was the definition of handsome. No, more than handsome because a small glimpse of his face made Sungyeol’s light up. “What do you think?”

“He’s fine, I guess,” not even the definition of handsome was able to change Woohyun’s laws of attraction. He liked what he liked. And what he liked was now bent over, taking off his socks and shoes at last and rolling up his pants. Even the businessman’s lack of ass was making Woohyun’s heart race.

“Shit,” Sungyeol swore again. “You’re smitten with the Regional Director of the Beach. You need to talk to the guy.”

“You need to do your job,” Woohyun growled.

“I am,” his friend insisted. Sungyeol then placed a hand over his heart. “I’m here to relieve you of your shift.”

“You tell me this now?” Woohyun grumbled as he gathered his belongings and began to climb down from the tower.

“Why else would I be here?” Sungyeol joked. And he had a point. If Woohyun had been in the right state of mind, he would’ve climbed down from the lifeguard tower as soon as he saw the long-legged lifeguard jaunt on over. But all sane thoughts had left his head, and the only things left inside of there, well, they aren’t the types of thoughts one would divulge. The hunger had taken over. Woohyun was no longer ruled by his ration but by his appetite.

But he wasn’t so out of his mind that he missed a soft gasp slip from Sungyeol, “Oh.”

Woohyun snapped his head back up to look at him. “What?”

“Your man is going into the water,” Sungyeol revealed and pointed over at the group.

“He’s not my man!” Woohyun shouted but his actions betrayed him. Not only did he quickly look over at the group but also stepped towards them in order to get a better look.

The businessman was being dragged by the hand towards the water by two of his friends. The third was pushing him from behind. The businessman’s shouts echoed all over the beach, but it was all posturing. He was walking towards the water just as much as his friends were pulling.

And then he finally hit the water. 

“Fuck,” Sungyeol spat. “Has he ever been in the water before?”

“Probably not,” the big smile on Woohyun’s face could be heard in his voice. It was cute. The businessman tentatively touching the waves with his feet and running away was cute. The man getting in just deep enough to splash his friends was cute. It was all so cute that Woohyun didn’t know what to do with himself and was visibly growing antsy. All of which drew a hearty laugh from Sungyeol. And that laugh was soon broken by a sharp yelp.

The businessman was hopping around on one foot in the water, trying his best to get out of it. His friends were also trying their best to pull him out, but when the shortest friend tried to pick up the businessman in a fireman carry, he ended up dropping the man into the water instead. The other two friends scrambled to pick him up, but they all kept getting battered by the waves and falling over again. The lifeguards were watching a comedy of errors unfold right in front of them. And the curtains closed when the businessman managed to crawl out of the waves in a wet and sand-covered suit, wincing in pain. 

The lifeguards exchanged a glance. “Jellyfish,” they spoke in unison.

“Do you want to take care of this or shall I?” Sungyeol asked even though he had a good idea of what the answer was.

Woohyun feigned a glance down at his watch. “I still have a minute left on my shift.”

“So dedicated,” Sungyeol teased in a singsong voice.

“Shut up,” Woohyun shouted back as he broke off into a sprint.

With that, the shark began his hunt.

* * *

Every hunt began with circling prey. Woohyun came up to the businessman still laying down on the beach, whimpering in pain. The friends who were gathered around the businessman in worry, parted and moved away to make room for the shark. “Did you get stung by a jellyfish?” the lifeguard asked.

“Aish,” the man was holding back from swearing anymore, biting his lip until it might bleed. After sucking in a breath through gritted teeth, he answered, “Yes.”

“It helps if you keep the afflicted area in the water.”

“Go back there?” the man was so stunned that he propped himself up as he gestured wildly out to the ocean. “Are you f…crazy?”

“I am here to help you, not hurt you,” Woohyun reminded him and put on what he hoped was a charming smile.

It did charm some of the other minnows. “Yeah hyung, he’s a lifeguard not a death…guard,” the definition-of-handsome remarked but lost confidence as he spoke.

The businessman closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and surrendered. “Okay.”

Woohyun helped the other up and promised, “I’ll stay with you and watch out for other jellyfish.”

“Thank you,” the man muttered as he let Woohyun take his waist and led him back into the water.

There, Woohyun kept circling, kept watching for any hint of interest. But the both of them kept ending up talking in circles. As they were strangers, neither wanted to divulge too much. However, Woohyun could sense an opening and pry a bit more, circle in closer and closer.

That was how he found out the businessman’s name: Kim Sunggyu. He was still in his suit because his friends had abducted him after work and took him to the beach. They were there to celebrate the youngest’s birthday, who was turning 30 the following year and was already getting depressed about it, complaining about how old he was getting to men a few years older than him. The impromptu beach party and subsequent abduction had been the youngest’s idea who claimed that Sunggyu would’ve never come otherwise. But Sunggyu believed that his friend got some twisted satisfaction in seeing Sunggyu squirm. Woohyun could relate to that friend. It was immensely satisfying to watch Sunggyu tense up whenever something suspicious approached them in the water, whether it’d be a seaweed or seafoam. Woohyun wanted to see more.

While Sunggyu was complaining of the cold and his ruined clothes, Woohyun pretended to spot a jellyfish. A moment later, he confessed that his eyes were mistaken, but in that moment between Sunggyu had grabbed onto his wrist and pulled the lifeguard in closer. After the danger had past, Sunggyu’s hand traveled down from the wrist and intertwined with the other’s. A few minutes and some conversation afterwards, Sunggyu noticed their conjoined hands and let go with a whispered apology.

It was enough for Woohyun to know. The blood had hit the water, and he was ready to hunt.

* * *

“I’ll be damned,” Sunggyu said soon after. He looked down at his foot and then smiled back up to the lifeguard. “It feels better.”

“Let’s get out of the water and give me a better look at it,” Woohyun offered. The other nodded and walked out of the water. He led the lifeguard up to his chair and sat down, pulling up his pant leg to let Woohyun have a better look. Woohyun swallowed the growing saliva in his mouth before touching the leg. “Vinegar also helps. I can give you some,” he murmured, trying to distract the other and himself.

“I think it’ll be alright,” Sunggyu responded and watched the careful hands turn his leg. The jellyfish had stung the back of Sunggyu’s calf. Truthfully, nothing could be seen except red, irritated skin. The lashes from the tentacles would appear later, Woohyun knew that. Yet his hands kept rubbing the calf, trying to soothe the redness.

“Woohyun-ssi,” the sound of his name pulled the lifeguard out of his trance. Sunggyu, visibly concerned, asked, “Does it look okay?”

“Perfect,” Woohyun answered and let go of the other’s leg. But he still sat crouched at Sunggyu’s feet. “For now, but it’s going to look worse tomorrow, and it may even break out into hives later if you’re lucky,” Woohyun revealed the bad news as best he could. And Sunggyu replied in the best way that he could.

Sunggyu closed his eyes, threw back his head, and cried, “Fuck me.”

“Can I? Really?” 

Woohyun didn’t realize that his perverted, appetite-driven thoughts had been spoken out loud, until Sunggyu’s friends began laughing. And Kim Sunggyu himself appeared utterly stunned.

Woohyun closed his eyes and bit back a few choice curses of his own before asking, “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes,” Sunggyu’s voice was flat. And when Woohyun hazard a glance up towards him, his expression was flat too.

It seemed like the hunt had failed and the minnow swam away.

“I’ll just go now,” Woohyun grumbled and scrambled quickly onto his feet. “And die.” The lifeguard tried to casually walk away, unbothered, but no, he couldn’t. He was incredibly bothered by it and soon found himself sprinting down the beach, far far away from everyone. He ran until there was nowhere to run anymore. He came face-to-face with a berm of rocks, marking the boundary of the public beach. He thought for a moment about hitting his head against those rocks out of frustration, but then he heard a voice call after him.

“Hey! Woohyun-ssi!” 

Woohyun couldn’t believe his ears nor his eyes. Kim Sunggyu was shouting his name and limping down the beach as quickly as he could. He had to stop and take a break for a moment, but Woohyun was willing to wait as long as it took.

Who would’ve thought that his battered fish would come swimming into a shark’s open jaws!

“Woohyun-ssi, can…can you give me your number, you know, in case I get hives?” Sunggyu stuttered through his reasoning with a phone in hand.

“Sure,” Woohyun was glad to accept it all. As he was putting his number into the phone, the lifeguard took a chance and offered his own faulty reasoning, “I can also check up on you later tonight if you want, you know, in case it worsens.”

And Sunggyu happily accepted it too along with his phone. “Please, I have a feeling it’ll get worse.”

“Also,” Woohyun began. “Jellyfish stings also have a tendency to make you really hungry,” his confidence faltered when he saw the other’s face fall flat again, “So…we should get dinner too, as well, also.”

The flat face cracked into a smile. And either the man was blushing from Woohyun’s suggestion or from his unexpected run earlier. “Is that so?” Sunggyu still tried to play it cool. Woohyun followed suit and bit back his smile as he nodded. Sunggyu chuckled. “Then we should. There’s a place nearby that makes crab knife-cut noodles.”

“I know the place,” Woohyun replied. He couldn’t hold back his toothy smile any longer.

Nor could Sunggyu. “See you at 7?”

“See you then,” the lifeguard agreed and then watched the businessman limp away. His mouth was drooling already.

Tonight the shark was going to feast!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to pour your thoughts in the comments if you have time /kisskiss  
> Link to poll: https://www.asianfanfics.com/poll/aff_view/133191


	2. SOS Sunggyu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunggyu just wants to do his job and Woohyun doesn't make it easy.

Sunggyu adjusted the weight of his backpack. He walked lazily on the sand in the direction of the lifeguard building as he had a mental debate on why again he took this job if he didn’t like to wake up early. The answer was very simple: the marines messed up his sleep pattern for two years and, once he was out, he needed a job in this city so he could offer some help to his widow sister. In the end, he ended up accepting Sungyeol tip and just applied for it, then discovered he was quite good at it.

Once he arrived at the main building and yawned to announce his grumpy presence, he moved for his lockers to gather all his equipment.

“Tough night?” Hoya asked as he passed by him. 

“Any problem yesterday Sunggyu ssi?” Bora, his partner, asked a second later.

“Nope, the kids are fine, I just hate to wake up early,” He replied and tried to wake himself up again. “...wake up Sunggyu.” 

He returned, applying sunblock (a must for someone with fair skin in this field), and took a good look around the building. Dongwoo and his partner Amy were checking the radios, Hoya and Bora were outside with other lifeguards and Sungyeol had forgotten his morning coffee in order to look through his binoculars with Mijoo and Soyu.

“Look, there are some in the water already.” Soyu pointed.

“I thought they’d be taller,” Mijoo added.

“I haven't seen this amount of fit people since I left the marines.” Sungyeol offered his two cents then noticed Sunggyu in his corner, almost done with sunblock. “Hey mister, are you ready for the tournament?”

Well, this day didn’t need readiness - not from any of the lifeguards, they were as trained as they could be - but this question had a reason to be asked because it was an atypical day in the lifeguards routine. Sunggyu didn’t know how, why or by whom, but it was decided this particular beach had good waves and voilá, suddenly Korea was being part of the Asian Surf Championship. At first, he hadn’t thought it would be a big deal (because he didn’t know much about surfing) but it turns out he had been into meetings, training, and had seen some massive structure be built on the sand. Not to mention there was a series of extra safety strategies the lifeguards had to ensue (even rehearse for the love of God!). Honestly, Sunggyu just wanted this to be over.

“I’m not the one competing.” He shrugged as he grabbed a bunch of keys and was out of the door. 

“But you’ll be in the water too!” Sungyeol yelled and Sunggyu rolled his eyes.

They were a big team that knew how to take care of each other’s back in the water, but today there would be more people involved and the lifeguards had been assigned positions. At first, he aimed to stay out of the sun, voicing warnings and information through the day but ended up being assigned to the drones to ensure no shark decided to appear. He was quite satisfied until the geek staff kid ruled him out. In his defense, it didn’t happen because he completely sucked controlling the drones, but mostly because the guy (what was his name? Myungsoo?) developed a crush on Sungyeol and needed an excuse to approach. Sunggyu shook his head as he thought about it. He watched this happen over and over. Sungyeol often didn’t get some because he was oblivious so Sunggyu believed the geek kid was bound to suffer.

It took some time but, once the jet skis were anchored and cars were taken back to their place, all Sunggyu needed to do was to stay in position and wait for the championship to begin. Unfortunately, once he was back, he saw a skinny blonde brat posing on his ski while a male friend took pictures of her.

“Can you take another picture oppa?” He heard the brat saying and Sunggyu thought it was better to interrupt now before they started some photoshoot on his equipment.

“Excuse me? This is lifeguard equipment that will soon be put into use, what are you doing?” He tried not to sound annoyed.

“Sorry.” The younger apologized and promptly climbed down the ski to grab her phone with her friend and disappear.

“Sorry for that.” The other guy said with a chuckle as his shoulders moved up and down and then offered a handshake. “I’m Nam Woohyun, that was my cousin Sungjong.”  
Sunggyu didn’t say anything but took a moment to take in the guy's appearance. Sunglasses, check. Tanned skin with a chill smile, check. Wetsuit half off with sleeves dangling beside his legs, check. Torso covered in lean muscles (which Sunggyu would pretend he didn’t like), check. Board not far away, check. It was not difficult to figure out this guy was a surfer.

The discovery didn’t bother him. It also didn’t bother him that those two were taking pics with his equipment (ok, just a tiny bit) or the fact Woohyun was quite handsome. What bothered him (and the thing he couldn’t move his eyes from) was the Kinesio tape in the surfer left shoulder. It meant injury and that would make things difficult during a rescue.

“What’s that?” He asked and Woohyun moved his eyes to where the lifeguard was looking.

“This?” Sunggyu saw Woohyun stall the answer. “Nothing big, old injury, the tape is here just in case.” He tried to smile.

“You shouldn’t compete with an injury.” He pointed.

“Can’t really lose my number one position now.” The guy said with a cocky smile and Sunggyu blinked quickly. So this wet gremlin was the current champion? Kind of small if compared with other surfers he saw around… perhaps he was in the sub 21 category? Well, it didn’t matter, the title didn’t impress him and, champion or not, Woohyun was dumb to push through with competitions when he wasn’t in 100% condition. “But it’s fine, really, thank you for asking.”

If the guy said so Sunggyu wouldn’t say otherwise. “Then wear your wetsuit properly, put your sunblock and sunglasses on your baby face then wait for the championship to start on your assigned area.” He ended up instructing but not really aware that he let out a compliment.

Woohyun chuckled. “I’m actually 28 but thank you for the compliment, you also have great skin for someone that spends so many hours under the sun.” The surfer made sure to compliment back.

Sunggyu didn't know much about the surf world but so far it seemed pretty straight male-dominated, therefore he didn't know if the surfer was just exchanging pleasantries or if he was straightforwardly trying to flirt. In the end it didn't matter, because both of them had work to do in the water soon. 

He decided to move and get reacquainted with his jet ski, the championship was about to start and both would forget this exchange. But, before he could climb on it, Woohyun appeared beside him.

“Will I know the name of the one who will help me keep my life?” The surfer tried to make his intentions clear by his tone but the lifeguard didn’t take it seriously and offered an unexpected answer.

"Well, there's at least twenty lifeguards here today, do you want me to go alphabetically?" Sunggyu said as he climbed the ski but Woohyun placed his hand on top of his and tried to step up his game with his best smile.

"I'm glad to hear that but I'll be more specific. What's _your_ name?"

The lifeguard bit his lips and, as if entranced, Woohyun moved his focus on them as he waited for his desired answer. On the other hand, Sunggyu internally debated if he should show some kind of interest, after all, once the championship was over, he would stay on this beach and this surfer would keep competing on bigger waves elsewhere. Before he decided anything, the surfer’s cousin appeared to remind them both they had to focus on something else: the championship.

"Oppa, come! It's starting!" Sunggyu pulled his hand out from Woohyun's to turn the engine while the surfer made a disappointed face but moved to grab his board and follow his cousin.

The lifeguard moved forward with the ski to join the others in their designated area while trying to forget about what just happened, at least for the time being. It was not like he deeply regretted anything but personal issues needed to be kept out of the sea or it might cost someone's life. Or worse, his own, and he wasn’t allowed that.

After everybody was on the water and Myungsoo and Sungyeol’s drones were flying around, the championship finally started. It turns out a championship had ‘heats’ of 20~35 minutes where four surfers would take turns to ride as many waves as they could. Their best two scores would make two surfers advance to the next round. 

Sunggyu watched everything with hawk eyes, his job here was not to interfere unless someone fell off their board and asked for/needed a rescue. By the end of the day, the lifeguards helped someone that had a heat stroke onshore and Dongwoo ended up rescuing Sungjong, who somehow broke her board.

The next two days weren’t deemed fit for competition because there was a storm approaching. To halt a championship was a bit new for Sunggyu but somehow it made sense, they all had to wait to ensure safety. The beach was closed for aquatic activities and not many lifeguards were needed over there, which made Sunggyu have a 2-days-break in which he helped his sister with her kids while she shopped for them.

Once the championship resumed, a few things had changed. The waves were bigger and the current was kinda strong. The lifeguards still couldn’t interfere but, now, aside from rescuing people, they needed to carefully take the surfers to where the waves happened. 

Sunggyu had seen Woohyun briefly by the water but they didn’t talk, in fact, the surfer seemed a bit embarrassed and that confused the lifeguard a little. He hadn’t reciprocated or rejected anything so he didn’t know what exactly was the source of that embarrassment towards him.

“This is not the time to think about your worries hyung.” Sungyeol had told him. Today he was on the ski to reinforce the water team, much to Myungsoo annoyment. 

“It’s not exactly worry, more like confusion.” Sunggyu conceded and the taller one followed the elder’s eyes. It wasn’t hard to discover Sunggyu had his small eyes fixed on the Korean representative Dongwoo was bringing last. “But don’t worry, it will stay out of the water.”

“I doubt that. ”Sungyeol mumbled to himself and Sunggyu turned to him with a confused face. The other lifeguard decided to tease but at the same time give his friend a warning. “We are here to ensure water safety not to root for our country.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Anyway, how’s your drone friend?” Sunggyu lied and hoped that his question would make Sungyeol awkward or at least defensive but no, it didn’t happen.

“Handsome enough for a date after my shift.” Sungyeol replied without deviating his focus from the sea as Dongwoo passed in front of them. Sunggyu wanted to gasp - Sungyeol, once in his lifetime, noticed the obvious and was taking some advantage - but now the surfers were by themselves and he needed to be extra attentive. 

One after the other, the surfers caught their big waves, some more elegantly and chill, some more obstinate and full of passion. Paddling, getting up, sliding and falling, everything happened too quickly and Sunggyu kept his eyes attentive on all of them but especially on Woohyun. Of course today's behavior had intrigued him but, right now, he didn't have a good feeling about that Kinesio tape in the surfer's shoulder. 

Most of the male pro surfers were taking extra tries on the growing angrier waves when Woohyun tried again. He stood up smoothly and slid down the wave while maneuvering his board for extra points but everything happened in a blink of the eye: one second he was maneuvering inside a tube, the other he was falling and being swallowed by the water.

Everyone waited because that's what they did first: assessment. Once Woohyun's head was above the water, his movements were chaotic and that’s when Sunggyu knew he wouldn’t be able to swim. _Shit!_

In the millisecond the others debated with themselves, the small-eyed lifeguard left for the rescue first and he hadn’t gone too far when he saw Woohyun lifting his right arm to ask for help. Sungyeol and Dongwoo followed right after but everyone lost sight of the surfer when another wave came over him.

Sunggyu came as close as he could from the surfer board because Woohyun was surely near it and once the guy pulled his head above water, he leaned his body and offered a helping hand. “You ok?” It’s not like he needed a verbal answer because his question had been rhetoric, but the painful face the surfer did while trying to grab his hand told him everything. 

Dongwoo and Sungyeol moved away while Sunggyu pushed Woohyun in the direction of the rescue board, and the moment he felt an extra weight being added he didn’t lose any second to leave. He tried to go as fast as the ski allowed but the extra weight, and especially the board attached to Woohyun’s foot (that was already engulfed), prevented him from going faster.

Meanwhile, the surfer gritted his teeth as he tried to hold himself but it was hard to stay in place in a situation like this. He tried his best to hold his body and board weight with his right arm - since his left shoulder was killing him with pain - but the moment the water started to fall angrily on his injured shoulder, he took a deep breath and let go.

Sunggyu speed picked up and he knew immediately something was wrong. He risked a glance back only to be sure Woohyun had fallen but it wasn’t like he could blame the guy. Woohyun was injured and couldn’t swim, but had done a good job keeping his head above the water and holding himself for a few seconds despite the pain. Sunggyu hissed, not only was Woohyun back in a risky situation, but the continuous flow of angry water was also about to fall on him. 

He didn’t have the time to think. Before the waves engulfed the jetski, he jumped.

The water had pushed them both further but they were still close enough to be hit by another wave and far enough to still need rescue. Sunggyu knew he could rely on the other lifeguards, but Sungyeol and Dongwoo would need some seconds to arrive and he needed to find Woohyun. He spotted the surfer struggling in panic and started to swim there. It was hard, the water movement prevented him from being faster. Two or three strokes later and Sunggyu tried to put his head underwater to escape a wave hitting his head.

Head above the water for a second time and now he couldn’t see Woohyun trying to get to his board. The surfer was above the water because his wetsuit had an inflating mechanism, but he wasn’t moving much. Sunggyu wondered if he had passed out and tried to swim as fast as his body and the water allowed him to.

“Hyung!” Sungyeol yelled as he announced his presence and Sunggyu felt a bit relieved.

He raised his hand and Sungyeol grabbed and pulled him as Dongwoo tried to position his jetski the closest from Woohyun as he could.

“Quickly!” Dongwoo urged as Sungyeol let Sunggyu go then tried to reposition himself.

Sunggyu didn’t have time to do an overall check - because the waves were still coming for them - but he was able to notice Woohyun's consciousness was leaving him. It wasn't like he expected full cooperation because he knew the surfer was injured, but that would make things harder, he would need to forego Sungyeol's help in order to hold the surfer.

With some difficulties, Sunggyu pulled Woohyun back over the board and then climbed above him. The lifeguard positioned his legs on the surfer sides as he held the handles and that’s the last thing Woohyun saw.

When Woohyun opened his eyes the image was blurry, the sound was distant and he couldn’t understand much. He felt pain all over his lungs and an excruciating desire to breathe and puke at the same time. He couldn’t do both so he panicked.

“Let’s put him over his right side,” He heard someone instructing softly once the sound became clear despite his desperation. “He has an injury on his left shoulder, I guess this is why he couldn’t swim and ended up panicking.”

Woohyun wanted to ask what was going on and how they knew that, but he felt his body rotating to his right side and that was enough for him to spill a mix of salty water and body fluids. As he coughed that strange liquid out, he heard some people clapping, why? Why would anyone clap when he was in this sort of situation? If he had any strength he wanted to complain about their lack of sense, but aside the pain spreading to his shoulders, he became aware he had a tube on his throat. He panicked again.

“Hey champs, calm down.” The guy said softly as someone else took the tube out of Woohyun’s throat so he had some difficulties. “I’m Kim Sunggyu and I got you ok? Just focus on spilling this water and breathing, ok?”

“You’re gonna be fine, ok? I promise.” The surfer heard someone else and moved his eyes only to find Sungjong with desperation all over her face as she tried to grab his right hand. 

Woohyun wanted to hold her hand, but the little strength he had was used to spill more water and try to breathe. That process made his lungs burn but it was the excruciating pain on his left shoulder that made the world start to fade again. A mask to help with oxygen was immediately over his face and he couldn’t hear anybody else speaking, so it was the lifeguard’s calming voice that rang on his head before he passed out.

Woohyun drifted in and out of reality a few times during the next hours but, by the time he managed to stay awake, Sungjong and her mother told him what had happened. He didn’t care about losing his title when his life had been at risk - and after he heard about his ligament completely tearing he wasn’t sure he would try championships ever again - but he felt incredibly guilty and thankful towards the one that saved him. A few days before Woohyun wanted to take that lifeguard out for dinner but now, if possible, he just wanted to swallow his embarrassment to apologize and thank him. Thankfully that opportunity came at night when Sunggyu dropped by to check on him.  
“You saved me... thank you.” Woohyun slurred, his oxygen levels were close to normal but he was instructed to not talk and rest before he was transferred to a bigger hospital for a shoulder surgery. Aside from that, Sunggyu was sure that IV had some morphine to control the shoulder pain too.

“Nah, it was my duty.” The lifeguard replied as he approached the bed and watched Woohyun take a couple of breaths before he asked something. “I told you not to compete with an injury, why did you lie to me?”

He watched Woohyun move his eyes to his left shoulder then take his time to reply slowly. “Didn’t lie...” Sunggyu raised a doubtful brow. “It tore now ...” The lifeguard winced, that had to be painful, it was no wonder the guy couldn’t swim. “And…” Oh, there was more? “Cramps… leg… after you...” So Woohyun had his shoulder nullified and one of the legs too? He should be the unlucky bastards champion. 

Sunggyu didn’t know if his expression showed disbelief but suddenly Woohyun looked desperate to use more words than his current condition allowed. “Easy tiger, I believe, you don’t need to convince me otherwise.” He said but it wasn’t like that relaxed the patient.

“Don’t… blame and… leave.” Woohyun pleaded.

“I don’t blame you, though I’d advise you to not do that again.” Sunggyu assured him with a smile and got close so he could sit on the chair next to the bed. This pleased Woohyun but he fell into an awkwardness of those who misunderstand, so Sunggyu took upon himself to do some talking. “I have to warn you though, someone from the staff released drone images and this is a small town, everyone knows what happened now. You’re going to get even more famous, some journalists came all the way from Seoul.” 

“Not famous…” Woohyun protested but that didn’t hinder Sunggyu's playful mood so he leaned towards the bed and pretended to whisper.

“Don’t tell anyone but I’m hiding from interviews, they freak me out.”

Woohyun opened an amused smile. The lifeguard was almost giving himself a pat on the back for that when the surfer got serious. “Hero… your kids... proud...” He wanted to compliment but the bitterness of these words made even harder for them to come out.

“Kids?” Sunggyu made a confused expression at first but realization came fast and now he discovered why Woohyun seemed so embarrassed this morning. He wanted to laugh but ultimately didn’t. It was plausible to be embarrassed if Woohyun thought he tried to flirt with a straight man father of two. But, he wasn’t one thing or another. 

“I don’t think my niece will remember this and my nephew might, but for a week only.” Sunggyu ended up saying with amusement and, despite still being a bit blue, the red color invaded the surfer’s cheeks. He smiled. “It’s ok, people misunderstand often because Yonhoo does look like me, but small eyes run in the family… I just help my sister around… she recently became a widow.” 

If Woohyun were in his right state of mind he would grow deeply red and probably curse himself for jumping to conclusions. But, despite red invading his cheeks, morphine took away half of his inhibitions and he just had to ask what he wanted since they first met. “Can we… dinner?”

“You can’t be serious...” Sunggyu chuckled at the surfer's guts to flirt from a hospital bed. But Woohyun waited for an answer seriously so he thought for a bit before replying. “It would be great but after you leave for your surgery, I wonder if I'll ever see you again.”

“You will...” The patient tried to show his seriousness, but Sunggyu didn’t believe it.

“Nah, you’ll end up surfing bigger waves on other shores…” Woohyun wanted to say he would probably retire but Sunggyu didn’t let him. “And I’ll just stay here, helping my sister around.” He said with a sad resignation of those that went through some disappointment before.

Woohyun didn’t take that shit, he was truly interested and he was extra motivated after today’s events. He furrowed his brows and tried to look as deep into the other eyes as he could. “Dinner?”

“You just need to focus on recovering this arm…” Sunggyu pretended to not hear.

“Dinner?” The patient insisted. 

Sunggyu sighed, he wouldn’t win this one right? Woohyun was way too stubborn for some person with morphine all over his body.

It was ok for him to entertain thoughts of what could have been, and he trusted the morphine would erase this promise, so he said yes. “Sure then, dinner once you have the strength to hold a glass of wine with your left hand.”

Woohyun opened a weak but amused smile and took the challenge. “Deal.”

BONUS

“Noona, come here, Yoonho is giving me trouble to eat!” Sunggyu complained as soon as he heard the door open.

“Coming!” She yelled back and took more time than usual to get rid of her shoes and purse. Once she appeared, she had news. “I found a babysitter to help me last minute!” She said happily then moved to scold her son.

Sunggyu stopped what he was doing just to helplessly watch as a girl took things out of his hands and shooed him out of his chair. She winked at him and he felt like he had seen her before, maybe with another hair color? He tried to think from where he knew her, but he noticed another presence and that made him get up so fast that the chair fell behind him.

“Woohyun?” He gasped.

“Hey.” Woohyun tried to smile but ultimately couldn’t hide his slightly nervous state. Even so, he made sure to wave with his left hand to show that everything was fine now. “I told you I’d be back...”

Sunggyu bit his lips to hold a smile but grabbed his jacket. He completely forgot to say goodbye before he left, very happy and dutifully accompanied, for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more story, one step closer to the truth! Any thoughts to spare? Let us know! We'd love to hear some early speculation and the reasoning behind it.


	3. Between the devil and the big blue sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woohyun is falling apart at the seams but at least he has Sunggyu.
> 
> !!implied character death

“Disappointed?” Sungyeol raised an eyebrow at the prolonged silence.

The beach that day was close to desolate as most people had grown tired of rearranging their things every time a stronger breeze attempted to swipe away everything lying. A few brave ones remained fixed on the towels with sheer stubbornness acting as additional weight, winning Woohyun’s respect. 

“You need expectations to feel disappointed.” Woohyun answered vaguely and sighed, feeling ridiculous perched on the lifeguard chair with no one to … guard. 

But that wasn’t the main source of his rather maudlin mood. Dejected, he munched on a honey butter chip with a dispassionate gaze.

“And you didn’t expect to see loverboy today?” Sungyeol questioned, having figured the real problem after all. And Woohyun couldn’t help but be bitter about how selective Sungyeol’s observation skills regarding his friend were. Where had that concern been when he actually needed it? “Liar.”

There was no use denying. “His world doesn’t revolve around me” Woohyun mumbled, reaching into his pocket. The familiar shape of the uneven pebble gave him a shy touch of comfort. “He’s probably swimming somewhere else today.”

“You know,” Sungyeol detached his back from the chair he was previously leaning on, “I never saw this hyung of yours, I’m starting to think you made him up.”

Woohyun bit the inside of his cheek. Of course. “Maybe he knows _you're_ here and doesn't wanna deal with _you_ ,” he almost snorted at Sungyeol’s disbelieving protest, “Who knows what you're up to on your shift when I am not here for damage control.”

“That’s kind of a reach, buddy,” picking his bag up, Sungyeol looked about to depart. “If anybody could scare him away it would have been the guy who had my shift previously,” he winced.

Woohyun hummed, pondering. He never met the guy, but his reputation wasn’t the nicest, enough to reach his ears when he wasn’t interested in gossiping in the first place.“The guy who always came drunk?”  
  
“Yeah,” Sungyeol's nose wrinkled in distaste. “Never heard anything from him after he left. He just worked for a bit in the summer and then fucked off back to his hometown without telling anybody,” he frowned, “or at least that’s what we all assumed, he was hanging with the worst sort, anyway, nobody wanted to ask.”

Woohyun hummed in acknowledgment, still not terribly interested. He could hear Sungyeol’s eye-rolling. “Alright, I’m going. Try not to hover like a sulky gremlin above the water all day, kay? You are not a ray of sunshine in the first place, now the sight is plain depressing.”

Woohyun tensed, tightening his grip around the pebble.

* * *

The day after was thankfully sunnier and brought more people around. Woohyun’s mood lifted slightly as if in tune. Dare he say, he was feeling optimistic for once. 

Turned out no expectations or lack of them whatsoever were crushed that day as Woohyun could already spy a familiar head near the rocks from a distance. Heart speeding up, he dashed to his post at the end of the dock.

“Hyung!”

Sunggyu was leaning his forearms on one of the rocks. Seeing Woohyun, he gave a smile and pushed himself away from the rock, sinking in the water. A few seconds later he rose back to the surface a few meters away from the dock.

“Hello, Woohyun-ah.”

“Hey,” Woohyun approached the rock Sunggyu previously waited at and could see a new pebble waiting for him. 

“Went diving already?”

Sunggyu nodded. Light brown hair was sticking to his forehead haphazardly as if he had quickly abandoned any attempt to arrange it, making him look lovely in the sunlight. Were he closer, Woohyun would have mustered the courage to brush the strands to the side himself. For now, he settled for crouching to lift the pebble. Today it was the color of a stormy sky, speckled with golden spots. How did he even find them?

“How are you feeling today? Better?”

Woohyun ducked his head sheepishly, playing with the pebble. Part of the reason why telling Sungyeol he was not disappointed the previous day hadn’t been a lie was that he gave Sunggyu a reason to deflect him. Last time they met Woohyun had been a mess, reeking of misery and resentment. His uncle had found his hard-earned saved money and borrowed them indefinitely. Hurtful words were exchanged with Woohyun on the losing side as usual, as no words he could throw would actually touch a person who didn’t care and felt no shame. Thus, leaving him furious and unable to confide in Sungyeol, arguably his only friend here, who was too excited to talk about his latest summer conquest. Woohyun had tried to be happy for him, he really did...it was just hard to be happy for someone else when nothing worked for him. Especially when that friend was never available to drop their good mood for Woohyun. 

And thus his only confidant had become this odd stranger with pretty eyes who had been frequenting the beach for a week and a half. Perhaps saying 'beach' was a reach, as Woohyun always found him already in the water, most of the body submerged as the depth near his observation chair on the docks was about 3 meters. He told Woohyun he’s mostly there to dive and find interesting things on the ocean floor. 

“Eung, better. Don’t worry about me,” he smiled, “You should be the one worried about. I told you there are some really bad spiders hiding between these rocks, yes? Don’t lean on them too much, although…” Although he rather likes having him within reach.

“I am not scared of spiders, Woohyun.”  
  
“They are venomous,” he insisted.

“I know,” he shrugged, “I’m scarier than them, perhaps.” he laughed at Woohyun’s disbelieving face. “You don’t believe it.”

“No offense, hyung…” he bit his lower lip, trying to suppress what would most definitely be an idiotic smile.

To his surprise, the other started to glide closer to the dock again. The pounding was back and Woohyun could feel the knee he was resting his weight on start to become wobbly. “But..?” Sunggyu urged him to voice out the rest of his thoughts. The closer he came, the clearer each detail on his face was. The droplet that escaped the tip of his fringe chased the shape of his cheek and once it traveled down his neck Woohyun could hardly pull his gaze away. It occurred to him some time ago that all the ogling was by no means appropriate, but there was no use feeling embarrassment over being caught when Sunggyu showed no indication of being bothered by it. In fact, he looked practically a little too pleased with himself.

Feeling parched in spite of being surrounded by enormous amounts of water, Woohyun met his eyes straight on. “No offense, but you look like they could eat you alive.”

After two seconds of silence, an incredulous cackle came as a response. “Oh, Woohyun. Was that intended to be a compliment?”

Was that too much? Woohyun averted his gaze as Sunggyu’s mirth went on and when he looked back he was startled to find the other in the same position as the start of his shift, leaning on the rock that connected to the dock, right in front of Woohyun. The impalpable magnetic pull tugged Woohyun closer to the edge. His knee rested now at nauseating proximity to Sunggyu’s arm. The urge to touch and run his fingers over the unexplored damp skin burned all-consumingly. He absentmindedly wondered how someone who spent so long in the water exposed to the sun could retain the paleness of their skin.

“Besides,” Sunggyu filled the silence. “You can’t say that when you never saw _me_ feasting on something”

Woohyun stilled, the noise of people playing in the water compensating for his lack of response. Was that an opening? They never … hung out except for these brief interactions separated by a difference in the environment: Sunggyu always submerged in blue hues that became opaque at that depth and Woohyun above, poorly comforted by the loneliness that came with oxygen.

He faced away, fixed on a random spot in the distance. “Would you … in that case, after this-” he gasped, interrupted by a cold hand on his tight. Despite the shock of the temperature, it only managed to leave a hot imprint underneath his skin. Forgetting what he was about to propose due to the sudden spike of desire, he hadn’t anticipated another kind of coldness that also came splashing at him. “Hyung!” he spluttered incredulously in a frenzy because of the confusing mixed feelings. The last registered feeling was of disappointment as Sunggyu submerged in the water. 

Face red, Woohyun got up and looked around for the culprit surfacing. He couldn’t see him anywhere at the moment and sighed in defeat, squeezing the water out of his shirt. 

“Another time, Woohyun-ah!”  
  
Woohyun turned immediately at the known voice, barely in time to see Sunggyu waving at him with upturned lips before taking a deep breath and going under. His actions were familiar enough for Woohyun to recognize what the words meant - that it was bye for today. As he climbed up to his seat in disappointment, he pondered over the last moments and how Sunggyu’s smile was a bit more guarded than usual, not entirely reaching his eyes.

* * *

His shift ended with nothing exciting other than people watching happening, leaving Woohyun alone with his thoughts in a way that was far from comfortable. He should have recognized the uneasiness that crept to the surface by evening as a bad omen for how the rest of the day would go.

This time, he completely underestimated it.

A knowing dread took over his senses as he found his sham of a home with its door open. He thought of occult stories and how leaving one's door open would invite the evil and the damned inside. Despite that, Woohyun knew what kind of story he was playing in and he knew it wasn’t the case of owners leaving their door open by mistake. With the courage of a condemned man he stepped inside, following the trail of broken furniture and shelves turned inside out, most likely in a search of hidden money. Which, Woohyun thought bitterly, was an absolute waste of time. 

The sight of his beaten up sorry excuse of an uncle surrounded by less than friendly looking men met him in the kitchen. While far from a surprise, it didn’t fail to trap Woohyun with trepidation. 

The man that was sat at the small table by the window concealed by closed grimy blinds greeted him with a lazy drawl, “Welcome back. Be a good boy and bring me a beer, Woohyun-ah. We all know he never runs out of those, don’t we?” he snorted, eyeing the broken heap on the floor moaning in pain. He was instantly silenced by a careless kick to the head and Woohyun couldn’t find room to feel sorry. With a blank face but quivering hands, he fetched the beverage and handed it silently.

“It got to the point where even beating this sack of shit doesn’t feel satisfying anymore. Figured if he’s terrified enough of a beating he’d get a grip, you know? But here we are.” he leaned away to spit on the unmoving lump with contempt. “Useless.” 

Woohyun hovered anxiously by the table and tried not to flinch when their eyes met. “A wonder Woohyun-ah turned out so hard-working. Must have snatched the good genes.”

The soft buzzing of the fridge filled the cold silence. A wave of nausea threatened to swallow Woohyun all. 

The man got up, which was taken as an unspoken order for the others to follow slowly. A hand grabbed Woohyun’s shoulder in a deceivingly friendly manner, but he could only feel it crushing his futile longing for normality. “I’m sure you’ll do a better job than him, sweetheart. We’ll send you the receipts.” he squeezed the shoulder. It took everything in his power to keep still.

“If he doesn’t wake up by tomorrow we’ll come by with a body bag. Our first service is always free.” With one last look of sickening glee at Woohyun, he left the house followed by his goons. Only after the door was shut could Woohyun trust himself to break into a sweat, slipping to the floor with a trembling hand gripping the table end for dear life. A single glance at the twisted limbs lying lifelessly next to him was too much, unleashing the nausea at full force he retched on the floor.

He didn’t know how much time passed while he heaved in the deafening muteness. As whatever was left of sense and reasoning returned weakly, he knew he couldn’t stay there for one minute longer. He needed air, one that wasn’t tainted with filth and decay and suffocating hopelessness.

His legs took him out and far away, and before he could think differently he found himself at the only place that offered other emotions than dread and misery lately. The dock was cool at night but the air was clean and reassuring. With heavy steps, he dragged himself towards the chair, guided by the reflection of the moon in the calm waters.

It was when he reached the area that his eyes widened in incredulity and confusion. 

“Hyung?”

It wasn’t the possibility of Sunggyu hanging by the docks that tilted his balance, but the shock of seeing him exactly how he was used to, leaning on a rock with his body submerged in what must have been uncomfortably cold water.

“Hyung! Aren’t you freezing?!” In his immediate concern, he didn’t stop to think and kneeled by the edge, grabbing Sunggyu’s shoulder, turning him to face him.  
  
There was a short surprise on Sunggyu’s face, to be replaced by a thoughtful look. “Woohyun,” he murmured, studying him. For what, he didn’t know. He thought he caught a flash of resignation for a moment before he continued. “So that’s how it is.”

“What are you even talking about?” he voiced frantically in disbelief. “Is this really the time to be in the water? Do you even get out of it, ever?” he fussed, tempted to shake the other into rationality. 

“I wouldn’t be in the water if it was in any way detrimental to me.” Sunggyu huffed, now amused eyes watching Woohyun losing his mind.

“I won’t even dignify that ridiculous statement with a comment” he hissed. Sunggyu paid him no mind.

“What are you doing here now?” he asked and it was a miracle Woohyun didn’t laugh sardonically at his audacity.

“I don’t know,” Woohyun smiled bitterly, and got up, legs restless for the second time today on the dock, “Maybe I felt a bit like dying and heard the call of the ocean in response. I am poetic like that,” he ran his hand through his hair and over his face, borderline hysteric and uncaring of what a depressing sight he was making.

Sunggyu fixed him with an intense stare, “Indeed.” he shook his head at Woohyun’s raised eyebrow. “Want to vent?”

Woohyun’s shoulders slumped. “Not this time,” he sighed, “I’d rather not think of it as much as I am able to.” Sunggyu nodded in understanding. Woohyun could imagine himself forgetting, lost in the bewitching sight. He looked even lovelier in the moonlight, a cold but soft beauty. It made his heart ache terribly in longing. 

When he lifted his hand in offering, Woohyun had the mind to be doubtful first. “Are you going to splash me again?” he grumbled, distrustful.

Sunggyu shook his head. “Not this time.” his gaze was trapping, lowering his defenses and appealing to his impulsiveness knowingly. “You said you wanted to forget," he paused, "Come in here.”

While his body reacted positively at the promising invitation his eyes appeared to send, he allowed himself to be mistrustful one last time. “In the water? Why do _I_ have to get in? I am not sure my body can handle as much as yours seems to be.”

Sunggyu chuckled. “It can.”

“Or maybe you lost feeling in your limbs.”

“I promise temperature will be your last worry.”

“You’re terrible,” Woohyun conceded, throwing his shirt off. He sat on the edge of the dock, legs breaching the water nervously. He hissed at the feeling, “Cold!”

Whether it was an attempt to distract or convince him to get in, the same hand from that afternoon touched his calf and slid to his knee, prompting his weight slightly to lean towards Woohyun. 

He wasn’t going to risk a second splash, and such, with reckless conviction, leaned down to slot their lips together. He was met with interest, hand moving to hold Woohyun’s head in place. The pace was unforgiving, pouring his intent to forget and frustration felt for the past few days into the kiss. Sunggyu was in no way passive, stealing his breath away with the hunger of a dying man, licking at his open mouth without a trace of humbleness. Woohyun would gladly forfeit his other senses to touch. Breathless, he wanted to pull them together and possibly merge, cold skin ascending to scalding once they joined. Before he could pull at him, Sunggyu broke the kiss and leaned back, lips still gleaming from the residual moisture. Woohyun didn’t think twice before jumping in the water. It was cold, but he was able to forget quickly as he emerged to the surface. He made his way to Sunggyu, who floated away from the dock. 

As he approached him, Sunggyu reached a hand to place on Woohyun’s chest, palm splayed on his collarbone. Inspired, he aimed to do the same, lifting his right hand to Sunggyu’s chin, his index finger passing his lips. Sunggyu chased it, nipping at the skin. The look in his eyes changed, something wild and feral swimming to the surface of his iris. Sunggyu’s palm on his chest slipped to his hip and he could feel nails digging, and if it weren’t for the confusing numbness of the cold water, Woohyun could have sworn his skin was punctured. 

He sighed, eyesight fixed to the lips dragging on his palm. Against his skin, Sunggyu started speaking, “You smell nice. I am glad there is no alcohol this time around. It has a bad aftertaste.”

Woohyun wondered if he ever came to the beach smelling like the booze scattered in his house. Could it really have stuck to his clothes? 

Sunggyu interrupted his line of thoughts “I wanted to tell you myself to meet me here tonight, but I hesitated.” he confessed.  
  
“Why?” he asked, his back itching slightly. He didn’t think of it too much.

“I wonder that too. When I saw you on the dock minutes ago, it felt inevitable. It was foolish of me to think otherwise. Why would I kickstart my journey to misery?” he nipped at Woohyun’s skin a little hasher.

“That’s a bit..” he trailed off, feeling his feet heavy. It took him a few moments to realize he couldn’t move them. He panicked, his other hand grabbing Sunggyu’s bicep. “I can’t feel my legs.” he choked, feeling a strange numbness spreading up his body. “Is it...I think it might be the spider veno-”

“It’s not the spider, Woohyun.” 

With what felt like the last of his strength, he pulled himself closer to Sunggyu, who wrapped both of his arms around his torso in response. He felt confused and scared, and Sunggyu’s eyes inexplicably looked both scorching and glacial. The last feeling his lower body could sense was a harsh texture circling him, similar to a snake’s skin yet closest to something scaly. It registered slowly with the accompaniment of horror that it was Sunggyu he was feeling, the part of him that had always been meticulously concealed in between rocks and murky water.

Sunggyu buried his nose in the crease where his neck connected to his shoulder, inhaling. He thought back to his words about smelling like alcohol and Sungyeol’s complaints about the guy who came to work smelling like a liquor store and how he disappeared without no one… everyone assumed he left and cut contact because no one cared enough to search for him.  
  
Just like no one would. For him.

As his arms also began to lose feeling, Woohyun let out a whimper, unsure if he would have the time to gather water in his eyes and whether he would feel it if he did. His throat still worked and he couldn’t decide between voicing his terror of dying or his heartbreak that nothing was real. The despair he felt blurred the lines between them.

“..I … why..?” his voice wobbled, and if there were no tears in his eyes they were stuck in his throat.

Sunggyu lifted his face to look at him. “You see, Woohyun ah, we all do what we can to survive. To survive, your uncle leeches onto you. You, on the other hand ... you survive by sharing your misery in hopes it lessens. What I do to survive is eat. For that, you understand, I can not afford to see you as something more than food, even though I enjoyed our time together" the smile could have been reassuring, but now close, Woohyun could see the alienness that shaped it, a lack of empathy that wasn't born out of cruelty but of something entirely different, of not knowing better, of not _understanding_ better. “If you make an exception once, it never stays once. It snowballs.” he followed, “That’s how sirens die.”

If Woohyun could have taken a deep breath, he would have had. In his state, only his mind worked and he could see, he could hear what hadn’t been said. Sunggyu was telling him if he cared once, he would start caring about more things. He _could_ understand better, but he refused to do so. He was wrong, the alienness and lack of empathy were there, but self-imposed. If he didn’t...if he didn’t _eat_ Woohyun...he feared he wouldn’t be able to eat anything after. 

How long did he live like this?

Woohyun was now completely unable to move because of the venom, unable to offer to teach Sunggyu. Unable to take that hesitation he confessed having felt and show him what it meant and how it could be good.

And yet.

And even if he did, would it have been worth it, if it led to Sunggyu also learning how to starve? 

As he watched sharp teeth approach his neck and visibly tear his skin and flesh apart without feeling a thing, he idly wondered if the venom paralyzing every inch of his body was to make it easy for Sunggyu. World blurring into darkness, the question of whether that referred only to eating him and not also his ability to stomach it, as his now still face muscles couldn't convey any pain nor agony that Sunggyu could see, remained unanswered. 

And so, he surrendered to the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys guess how we chose the order for the stories? Hint: it's a gradual process.  
> Two more stories to go! How is your guessing game going? We are curious to know what makes you think a story could be written by a certain author, even if you end up being wrong. Don't be shy!!


	4. Like an ocean that fills my heart, you come and go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunggyu runs into the last thing that he expected to find on the beach.
> 
> //character death warning

Like an ocean that fills my heart, you come and go.

It was the end of summer season. The days were getting shorter. The students returned to their schools. Workers returned to their office. And all who was left on this beach were the locals and the elderly who had waited for the summer rush to die down before they made their trips to the East Sea. The sight of a beach packed with old folks was a relief to Kim Sunggyu, who was supposed to be their lifeguard today.

“Supposed to be” being a key phrase. He wasn’t officially one. He never got certified in lifeguarding but emergency medical responding. His friend Lee Sungyeol thought that was close enough. During this time of year, lifeguarding wasn’t so much saving kids from drowning but tending to jellyfish stings and wrangling drunk people. Both of which, Sungyeol thought that Sunggyu was more than qualified for, since he was medically trained and loved nagging people. And unfortunately, there was no one more qualified now since most of this beach’s lifeguards had gone back to school, and Sungyeol would rather celebrate his anniversary with his boyfriend than watch a bunch of old folks comb the beach for seashells. But Kim Sunggyu was partially qualified, he was free, and more than any of that, he was soft.

Only a few people knew how “soft” Sunggyu was, how difficult it was for him to refuse people, especially desperate people. And Lee Sungyeol reeked of desperation time and time again. Today, he was desperate to spend the day with Myungsoo. Last month, Sungyeol desperately sought his aunt, even visiting many seedy investigators to find her. Sunggyu was the one to reconnect them again, and again, and again.

And now the soft Sunggyu was burning to a crisp at the top of his tower. It was the end of summer, but it was still hot, like Hell on earth. Sunggyu shifted in his seat, pulling his red shorts down his now pink thighs, which were hot and tender to the touch.

You’d think someone trained in medicine would remember to bring sunscreen, but Sunggyu was in denial that the end of the summer was still hot. Even with the sweat dripping down from his hairline, along the cut of his jaw. Even with his tongue licking dryly at his lips. Even with the 2pm sun beating his formerly white skin red. Sunggyu was in denial.

He’d rather forget the heat altogether.

Luckily, he found a distraction in watching the people nearby. There was old man with skin like tanned, worn leather; his elderly wife stepped in the footprints that her husband left in the sand, step by step all the way down the beach. He never looked back at her once.

A middle-aged woman was looking out into the water, staring listlessly into the gentle waves, greying hair tossed in the wind. A tiny, pale hand tugged at the bottom of her shorts. She batted the child’s hand away, probably thinking it was nothing more than a mosquito.

Sunggyu’s gaze soon fixed on a rather peculiar couple. It was a man around his seventies, still handsome by anyone’s standards, with fewer wrinkles creasing his skin and darker hair than most of his peers. He sat underneath an umbrella in a chair, but his hand laid on the armrest belonging to the chair next to his, where a young woman in her late thirties sat. Her skin was so pale, it was translucent. Her greyish fingers danced up and down his tanned arm. Her eyes were on him, and his were on the sea. But a smile lifted his lips as the girl kissed his cheek. He didn’t even flinch.

Sunggyu was envious. What was it like to have a love like that? A love that transcended boundaries? It must be nice.

The radio crackled, snapping the pseudo-lifeguard from his reverie. It had to be the other lifeguard, Dongwoo. It had to be him, but Sunggyu couldn’t make out a damn thing from that sea of white noise, not even after he banged the radio against his armrest a few times. Still he heard nothing but buzzing and gargling, as if the radio was gasping for the breath to speak.

Sunggyu sighed as he turned the radio off. It’d be better just to ask Dongwoo face-to-face what was the matter. Sunggyu prayed that it wasn’t some drunk, overheated octogenarian. He already had to deal with one, and it wasn’t even 3pm yet.

80 year-olds weren’t the only ones getting drunk that early in the afternoon. After Sunggyu carefully crawled down from his tower, he saw another, a young man around Sunggyu’s age, sitting in the sand without a chair or a towel. His black hair was shining with salt-water. His white shirt clung tightly to his once toned back. The young man then turned his head as he looked down the beach, taking in the sights that Sunggyu had seen only moments earlier. A long nose that came to a point, like a crag overlooking the sea, and lips as soft as the summer’s breeze, Sunggyu knew them well. And he knew that they belonged to a fool.

“It looks like someone went into the water with his clothes on,” Sunggyu remarked snidely as he stepped towards the other, who ignored the lifeguard and now looked towards the people playing in the water.

Sunggyu scoffed. “Are you seriously going to keep ignoring me? Are you really that mad at me for last night?” Still nothing. He couldn’t get anything out of the man, just like the radio. Sunggyu couldn’t take it anymore. “Yah! Nam Woohyun!”

Woohyun flinched at the sound of his name and then slowly looked up at the other. “You’re talking to me?” he whispered, barely moving his lips, as if he was scared.

“Of course,” Sunggyu replied cautiously. “Who else?”

“I…I don’t know,” Woohyun stuttered as he dropped his head, burying his mouth in his arms. He averted his gaze away from Sunggyu, who only sighed. What did he expect from Woohyun? Whose moods were more temperamental than the sea in front of them? And Kim Sunggyu, always in denial, didn’t think that he deserved this cold treatment from the other for what he did last night, and probably for what he did for the past three years.

When they first began, they both had girlfriends, who didn’t give them the affection that they both thought they deserved. So they gave it to each other. And when they both found girlfriends who treated them well, they carried on and treated each other even better. It never mattered who they dated, eventually Sunggyu and Woohyun would begin their affair again, and again, and again. Truthfully their affair was the longest lasting relationship that either of them had, which was probably why Woohyun tried to make into something real last night, right after Sunggyu came out of a relationship with a girl seeking marriage. Woohyun followed, dumping his own girlfriend and coming into the other’s home. Sometimes Sunggyu was worried that Woohyun would follow him anywhere, even off a cliff to their mutual doom. Sunggyu, on the other hand, couldn’t follow Woohyun so easily, which is why the younger tried to push and pull him into his direction. Sunggyu wouldn’t even budge, not even when Woohyun gave him an ultimatum. Sunggyu still didn’t move.

As soft as he was, Kim Sunggyu didn’t like being forced to do things. He would follow when he was good and ready. But he wasn’t ready yet.

“Look,” Sunggyu began. He couldn’t bear to look at the other either, not while being so raw. “I get it. I get why you’re mad, but can’t you understand where I’m coming from?” Woohyun had to know how different their situations were. While they were both the beloved maknaes in their respective families, Sunggyu was the only son in his family. He had certain expectations thrust upon him that Woohyun did not. Sunggyu didn’t like to be forced into things, but he hated being a disappointment, especially to his family.

“Just, give me some time,” Sunggyu begged.

Woohyun finally looked up at him, with those dark eyes, his canines biting into his purple lips as he thought. He always followed Sunggyu. He always came back, just like the tide to the shore. 

But perhaps, not this time. He looked away again. “Time?” Woohyun growled as he ruffled hair in frustration. “What time? Hyung! I’m…I’m gone! There’s no…”

A snide chuckle passed through Sunggyu’s red lips. Gone but still here? Well, that sounded like Nam Woohyun. How many times did they claim that they would let go of each other, only to cling on more tightly? And why else would Nam Woohyun be drunk at the beach now if not to harass Sunggyu? Sungyeol must’ve told him where to find him. 

But before Sunggyu could challenge the younger on this, he noticed a splatter of red hidden underneath the black, slick hair. “Hold on,” Sunggyu cut the other off mid-rant and dropped down to his knees to get closer. His hands cupped Woohyun’s cheeks, looking too pale under the other beet-red hands. A shiver raked through Woohyun’s body, as if Sunggyu’s sun-warmed fingers were burning his cold body. His black eyes were wide in shock. Sunggyu ignored all of that as his hand slowly moved upward and brushed aside the damp fringe, revealing the deep gash underneath.

“Blood.”

* * *

After minutes of struggle, Sunggyu yelled to Dongwoo through the radio that he was going on a break, but it was difficult since the radio kept crackling. Piece of shit.

A few minutes more, and Sunggyu was tending to Woohyun’s wound in the lifeguards’ breakroom. Away from the beaming sun and underneath these florescent lights, Sunggyu finally saw what horrible shape Woohyun was in. The cut was deep, just barely brought together by a handful of butterfly bandages. His face was almost grey from blood loss; his skin cold. And he was quiet, too quiet, like the cold had frozen his lips shut.

Sunggyu couldn’t handle the chilly silence anymore. “You got drunk again didn’t you, and it’s just past 2 in the afternoon,” he reprimanded the younger. Woohyun didn’t smell like alcohol, but his eyes were odd. The usual light had left them. Sunggyu couldn’t look at them without feeling like he was looking at someone else. So instead, he focused on cleaning up the dark, thick blood from the other’s skin and hair. “You need to be more careful.”

“It won’t happen again, I promise,” Woohyun finally spoke. Once again, it wasn’t with his full voice, just whispers.

“It better not,” Sunggyu grumbled. He then tossed the gauze into the pile with the rest. How many did he use? Too many. No wonder why he looked so pale. “Woohyun, you might need to get stitches.”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Doesn’t hurt?” Sunggyu pressed, meeting Woohyun’s flat eyes. The younger nodded, at which Sunggyu scoffed. “Liar. How could this not hurt?” Sunggyu pressed harshly on the wound as he applied one last bandage for good measure, but the other didn’t even flinch. Did it really not hurt? Not one bit? Or was Woohyun just hiding his pain like he always had? Sunggyu decided on the latter. He got up to put away the first aid kit and said to the other, “A wound like this could kill you. You should really be more careful.” 

Woohyun chuckled bitterly. “You’re right,” he muttered. He had inhaled, preparing to say more, but he decided against it, biting his lips closed once more. He looked like a gremlin when he did that, especially with those dark, sunken eyes and hunched back.

No, he looked like a gremlin that had gotten hit by a truck and was left on the side of the road to die. “I should take you to a hospital,” Sunggyu announced. He wouldn’t let Woohyun die, not like this. “You don’t look well, and you’re acting all weird.”

“I’m fine,” Woohyun repeated, with a fuller voice.

Sunggyu still didn’t buy it. “Woohyun.”

“I’m fine,” this time weaker, and with a smile. The kind of smile that gave Sunggyu no choice but to yield and let it drop.

“If you say so,” Sunggyu grumbled and sat down next to the other on the horribly uncomfortable whicker loveseat. “If you die, it’s not my fault.”

“Not true,” Woohyun found his whole voice again. It resounded through Sunggyu’s ears. “I got drunk because of you. Jerk.” If Woohyun’s eyes could get any darker, his teeth sharper, they did. “It’s because of you.” He clutched at Sunggyu’s arm which had been draped across the top of the seat.

Sunggyu quickly pried the hand away and held it in the air. “You got drunk on your own,” he snarled back at the huffing man. “I didn’t make you fall either. It’s not my fault.”

“But you broke my heart.”

Sunggyu’s heart stilled in his chest. He let go of the other, stunned. He couldn’t deny it; last night his words cut deep. But he didn’t think it would leave a wound deeper than the gash currently on Woohyun’s head. However, they must have. It somehow didn’t just feel like a figure out speech: “You broke my heart.” The way Woohyun was acting, the way he was talking, it was all heartless. That was why his actions seemed so weird to Sunggyu. Woohyun lost his heart. 

“Do you mean what you said last night?” Woohyun asked. And when Sunggyu didn’t immediately answer, he pressed on, “Do you not love me?”

“I told you earlier,” Sunggyu croaked through his tight throat. Woohyun was trying to force him again, and Sunggyu’s body was physically rejecting it. It wouldn’t allow him to speak. “Give me…”

“There’s no time!” Woohyun interrupted, bellowing. “I have no time left!” 

Sunggyu had finally done it. He used up every last drop of patience that Nam Woohyun had. He was done following Sunggyu around. “Just for once in my life, be honest with me,” Woohyun pleaded, desperately.

Sunggyu had always been soft for desperate people, which was why was drawn to Woohyun in the first place, which was why he was continuously afraid of being like putty in the younger’s hands, which was why Sunggyu kept coming back to Woohyun again, and again, and again. 

Which was why he was finally confessing his feelings after years of denial. “No,” Sunggyu started. “Last night, I lied.” There it was! He’d finally said it, albeit very indirectly. But he said it! And it left Woohyun utterly unsatisfied. He just stared at the other, with those empty eyes. More color seemed to leave his face, if any more could. Sunggyu huffed. “You know I fucking lied or else you wouldn’t be here, right? You…you know me, so well.” He touched Woohyun’s arm lightly as he whined, “Do I have to say it?”

“Just once, please,” there it was again, that seductive desperation. “I want to hear it just once.”

“I love you.”

Sunggyu wondered if those words were as magical as people claimed them to be. Woohyun seemed to be glowing, with a pinkish hue. His eyes shone with their usual light, but his lips still felt cold against his. But Woohyun’s cool touched soothed Sunggyu’s fresh sunburns. It felt like plunging into the ocean. And the undertow that was Woohyun was dragging him away and pulling his sweat-drenched clothes from his hot skin.

Sunggyu wanted to tell him that it wasn’t the time nor the place, but how many times had he already said that to Woohyun? How many times had he pushed the younger away? It was his turn to cast aside his shame and accept Woohyun with open arms. Well, and do a little more than just that.

Sunggyu had just barely managed to lock the door when Woohyun crashed over him like a wave and pulled him back to the seat. Woohyun’s kisses were just as desperate as his words earlier, and also suffocating. Sunggyu having a hard time finding breath between them, but Woohyun wasn’t, like he didn’t need oxygen anymore when he had Sunggyu, like a fish in water. When Woohyun did recede from his lips, it was only to kiss somewhere else, something else. It was overwhelming. It was breath-taking. It was drowning. Drowning in his love, that was the only way to describe it. And Sunggyu thought that it was the best way to die.

However, he could do without Woohyun’s suddenly longer nails from digging into his back.

“Ow! That hurts!” Sunggyu yelped as he sat up and pushed the other off of him.

“Really?” Woohyun seemed genuinely surprised. He turned Sunggyu’s back so that he could see the red lines across the bare shoulder blades. “I didn’t think it would leave a mark,” he muttered under his breath while he traced the lines with his thumb.

Sunggyu watched him curiously. “How could it not when you’re scratching me?” It wasn’t the first time that either of them had been rough with each other, but it was the first time that Woohyun was shocked at the mark he left. Wasn’t it intentional? It usually was.

“I’m sorry,” was what he said, but as those words left his lips, his cool finger dug once more into Sunggyu’s back. That one was intentional. The mischievous smile on Woohyun face was proof of it.

“Stop!” Sunggyu exclaimed and pushed the other away again. “You did that on purpose, jerk.”

Woohyun’s cheeky smile flickered into an odd, somber one. “It’s something to remember me by,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to Sunggyu’s shoulder and then his neck. A trembling shiver went through Sunggyu. It felt good though.

Sunggyu sighed and brought the cool body closer to him. He wanted to feel more. “Like I’d ever be able to forget you.”

“Don’t forget me,” the younger muttered as he buried his face into the crook of the other’s neck. “Please don’t.” He wrapped his arms around Sunggyu and pulled him in closer. Any closer, then the two would become one. Woohyun’s soul would enter his.

“I won’t,” Sunggyu promised as he fingers brushed through the other’s still wet hair. His other hand stroked Woohyun’s arched back. “I wasn’t kidding when I said that, Namu. You’re impossible for me to forget. You’re…” Sunggyu’s voice trailed off when Woohyun’s tight hold loosened. The younger pulled himself away just enough to face the other. His eyes looked even brighter than before. His skin looked as if it’d taken on some of Sunggyu’s burn. And yet it was still cool, damp. Sunggyu couldn’t warm him up, no matter how much he tried to massage it into him, like he was doing now. He was watching his hands move up and down the other’s arms, while he murmured. “You’re family to me.”

“Really?” Woohyun asked, to which Sunggyu only nodded and hung his head even lower when the younger tried to catch his gaze. But Woohyun had it, after pinning Sunggyu back down onto the seat in one swift movement. “I’ll love you forever,” he spoke onto the other’s lips before kissing him, and kissing him again and again and again. Between them, he’d somehow managed to say, “You know that, right? I won’t stop loving you. No matter what.”

“Sh!” Sunggyu hissed as lifted Woohyun off of him, with a hand over the other’s mouth. He scrambled to regain his breath after being suffocatingly immersed into the depths of Woohyun’s affection once again. It was odd. It was all odd. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked between pants, worry creasing his brow, which only deepened when Woohyun started pecking his hand. Sunggyu slowly dragged his hand away from the other’s mouth and moved it to cup his cheek, moving Woohyun to look him in the eye. What was going on? Did a near death experience scare him this much?

“I just,” Woohyun began to explain but the words soon failed him. He pressed his face into the other’s hand and laid his own over it. Taking in Sunggyu’s warmth, he sighed and closed his eyes. The color drained from his skin once more. “You need to know how much I love you. You’ll never find someone who loves you as much as I do,” he said and kissed Sunggyu’s hand once more. His eyes fluttered open and fixed on the other. “Okay?”

“Okay, okay,” Sunggyu muttered as he relaxed, laying back down. His hand on the cheek traveled to the back of Woohyun’s neck, and he pulled the younger down with him. “I know.” While that might’ve sounded like a snide or dismissive remark, Sunggyu was serious. How could he not be when Woohyun was acting the way that he was, or staring at him like that? Woohyun was dead serious and seriously loved Sunggyu with every drop of his being. Sunggyu knew that, and he knew that there was no one else like him. For as long as he lived, he’d never encounter another soul like Nam Woohyun because…“You’re the only one.”

That brought the color back into his face, along with a smile. “What about you?” he asked as the palm of his hand washed over Sunggyu’s heart. Sunggyu looked up at him, confused, and tilted his head. “How much do you love me? Tell me. Please,” he pleaded when Sunggyu only responded to him with a soft whine. A whine that turned into a whimper when Woohyun’s cool touch took hold of a sensitive spot on his body. Sunggyu moved to kiss the younger, to show how much he loved him. But words wasn’t what Woohyun wanted. He held Sunggyu down and gave a shake of his head.

Sunggyu groaned but gave him what he wanted, and probably deserved after years of this tumultuous relationship. Woohyun always knew how to pull him into his direction, like the moon with the tide. “More than I’d like to admit,” Sunggyu admitted with a half smile. He couldn’t say the rest while staring the other in the eye. “More than I thought I could.”

“Will you love me forever?”

“Forever?” he repeated as he looked back up at the other again. When he did, a strange sensation swelled from the depths of his chest and overtook him. Somehow Sunggyu knew that if he didn’t answer honestly right now, he’d never be able to say it because all of this would slip away. The moment, possibly even Woohyun, would fall through his fingers. Which was probably why he’d suddenly gripped onto the younger’s arms so tightly. 

“Yes,” Sunggyu finally spoke.

“Say it.”

“I…I’ll love you,” he was stammering. It was so awkward to say out loud, especially the final part, which he croaked out after a harsh swallow, “Forever.” For the first time, Sunggyu saw Woohyun take in a deep breath and let it out. When he did, Woohyun splashed down onto the other and hugged him tightly. Sunggyu grinned and chuckled. “You really needed to hear that, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Woohyun muttered into his skin. “You have no fucking clue.” 

Then they continued to dive into each other’s love, falling deeper and deeper.

But then they hit the bottom.

* * *

Sunggyu should’ve had a clue. He’s had encounters like this before. Just today, he’d encountered three others before Woohyun. He really should’ve known.

But instead, here he was, looking for Woohyun after cleaning himself off in the lifeguards’ showers real quick. He’d thought the younger would follow him inside, but Woohyun just remained on the loveseat and waved when Sunggyu left the room. And now he was gone. There wasn’t a trace of Woohyun to be found. Not his clothes. Not a note. Not…wait, there were wet footprints across the floor leading outside. Sunggyu followed them. The footprints traipsed through the wooden deck outside, down the steps, and disappeared at the sand. But that was normal wasn’t it? There was nothing strange about footprints disappearing in soft sand, right? 

Sunggyu crouched down and grabbed a handful of the warm sand. He watched it as it slowly slipped through his fingers. Like Woohyun just had.

Sunggyu wanted to remain in the comfort of denial for a moment longer, but a shout burst forth and broke that vain hope: “Hyung! Sunggyu-hyung! Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Dongwoo said you’d disappeared!”

It was Sungyeol, a panting and sweaty Sungyeol, who’d obviously ran to the beach, to Sunggyu, in the middle of his date with Myungsoo. His dress shoes were filling up with sand, and Sungyeol was unbuttoning his shirt to help him breathe easier.

Sunggyu stood up and wiped the sand from his hands. “What is it?” he asked and winced, bracing himself for what was to come.

And then it did: “It’s Woohyun. They...they found him this morning.” Sungyeol was struggling to find the right words. He didn’t want to say it just as much as Sunggyu loathed to hear it, “He fell and…he, aish, I can’t even say it. Fuck.” Sungyeol swore. Tears dropped down from his red rimmed eyes. “He hit his head real bad. Probably got drunk, knowing him. Damn it! I…” 

A buzzing filled Sunggyu’s ears, muffling Sungyeol’s voice. His gaze drifted away from the crying man. Sunggyu tried to keep his eyes open the best he could. If he closed them, he’d cry. If he closed them now…he’d miss seeing the image of a man sitting on the rocks at the edge of the shore. Sunggyu’s heart stopped. Woohyun, it was him. And he caught sight of him too. Woohyun stood up and waved at him with a bittersweet smile.

“And…and I just have this bad feeling that he’s going to come and find you. So I ran here, as fast as I could. I wanna be by your side when his ghost comes. I…” Sungyeol swallowed the rest of the words.

And the sight of Woohyun was being swallowed by Sunggyu’s cloudy tears and the bright sun. No, Sunggyu couldn’t close his eyes, or else he’d never see him again!

“Shit. He’s already here, isn’t he?” Sungyeol whispered in a shaky voice.

Sunggyu blinked. And Woohyun was gone.

“WOOHYUN-AH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More like deadguard au am I right gays


	5. Ulterior Motive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunggyu wants to take his sister's kids to the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chill story for a change.

"You want to take my kids to the beach again?“ There was obvious suspicion in her voice.

Sunggyu cleared his throat and tried hard to keep his poker face on. His sister stared him down like she was waiting for him to crack as he always did, but Sunggyu managed to keep his face straight. "That’s what I said. Is there a problem? It’s sunny and warm. They don’t have school. They love the beach!“

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly. Sunggyu knew he was pushing his luck. His sister wasn’t stupid after all. But there was no way he could tell her why he really wanted to take the kids to the beach.

"That’s all true but you hate the beach and, while you love your niece and nephew, I know you would never want to be alone with them for a longer time. I know you, Kim Sunggyu. And don’t get me started on how I had to practically beg you to take them to the beach last week!“

"I was simply busy last week! You asked me on really short notice and I was quite stressed, so my answer might’ve turned out a little harsh. But spending time with them at the beach has been a really fun experience! I regret not doing this earlier and I can tell you would totally love another break from your kids.“ Sunggyu gave her a playful shove. "Don’t act like you don’t want some alone time with your husband. Come on.“

There was a sudden squeal. "Uncle Sunggyu is taking us to the beach?“

Two kids stormed into the room and watched them with excited eyes. Sunggyu was smirking inside. There was no way his sister could say no now. Her children weren’t going to give up so easily. He crouched down and opened his arms for them. "Yoonhee, Yoonha! My favorite niece and nephew!“

"You don’t have any other...“ His sister muttered.

"Uncle Sunggyu!!“

Sunggyu dropped a kiss on each of their heads and smiled. "Who wants to go to the beach?“

"Me!“ They shouted loudly. He winced a little at the volume of their voices. Why were kids so loud? But Sunggyu still loved his niece and nephew. He wouldn’t want any of his own but Yoonhee and Yoonha were definitely adorable - even if they tested his patience sometimes.

He gave his sister a grin. “See? They both want to go~“

"Yes, Mommy! We want to go!“ Yoonha copied.

She threw her hands in the air. „Fine, you can take them.“

Her kids screamed in joy and Sunggyu winced once more. "But first you guys will change your clothes and put on sunscreen.“

They ran away like lightning to finish the tasks they had been given. Sunggyu stood up again as his sister sighed. "You’re right. I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet when they’re gone. Let me back their bags and something to eat.“

About twenty minutes later, Sunggyu finally had the kids in his car. He turned around to look at them in the backseats. "What did you tell your mom about our last time at the beach?“

"I didn’t tattle!“ Yoonha exclaimed immediately.

"Snitches get stitches. That’s what you said, Uncle Sunggyu.“

"…” He started to sweat a little. „I didn’t think you would remember that. Don’t say it in front of your parents, okay? You haven’t done it already, I hope.“

Yoonhee shook his head and his sister followed. „Good. If you guys snitch on me, your mom won’t let me hear the end of it.“

The kids nodded and Sunggyu turned around again to start the engine.

There were a lot of people at the beach like last time but Sunggyu quickly found a good spot for their blanket and sunshade. He looked around inconspicuously as the kids took off their normal clothes. They had their swimsuits on beneath them to make the changing quicker. Sunggyu kept glancing around but he couldn’t find the person he was looking for. His sister had been right about him having another reason to take her kids to the beach. There was someone he wanted to see again.

"Uncle Sunggyu, can we go into the water?“ Yoonhee interrupted his searching.

“That’s what you’re here for, aren’t you? But remember to stay close to the beach in the marked areas.“

"Yes, Uncle Sunggyu!“ They said in unison. The siblings hurried off towards the water. Sunggyu followed them with his gaze. They were good swimmers and usually listened to what they were told, but Sunggyu still had to keep a watchful eye on them. Never mind the rage he would face from his sister in case something happened to them. He would never be able to forgive himself either.

Sunggyu took his pants off as well since it was pretty hot. He had his swimming trunks on but he wasn’t really the type to jump into the ocean and swim. Besides, it was way too warm out in the sun. Under the sunshade, it was barely endurable. His shirt he kept on. Sunggyu wasn’t very confident about his upper body. He knew it was his own fault for being a lazy bum but he could never motivate himself to do sports. A little belly wasn’t super attractive but it didn’t hurt. When the apocalypse hit, who would die first - the ones with some belly fat or the skinny ones? At least that was his logic.

He sat down and grabbed a sandwich from the food basket his sister had packed. Sunggyu looked around more as he kept an eye on the kids. An hour passed and the kids were back under the sunshade for a little break, when Sunggyu’s eyes finally found his goal. Those strong, tanned legs, the navy blue pair of swimming trunks hugging a perfectly round and cute butt. He felt like a pervert but one had to appreciate a good-looking behind from time to time. His gaze went further up and he sighed shortly. The other man was attractive from his toes to the top of his brown mop of hair.

"Uncle, you’re drooling.“ Yoonha giggled.

"I’m not!“

Yoonhee looked around. "Oh, it’s Teacher Woohyun!“

“You should talk to him, uncle.“

He huffed. “Eat your sandwich, Kim Yoonha.“

"Teacher Woohyun is really nice.“

“I know. You told me last time.“

Damn those nosy kids. Couldn’t they just let him swoon in peace? Sunggyu sighed. Last time he had taken the kids to the beach (or more like: when he had been forced to take them to the beach), he had spotted a very attractive lifeguard. Yoonha and Yoonhee caught him looking and, by coincidence, they knew the other man. As it turned out, he wasn’t just working as a lifeguard. He was also a swimming teacher at a local pool where many schools sent their kids to learn swimming. Nam Woohyun - a man who loved swimming and kids. The total opposite of Sunggyu. Plus, he was probably straight and dreaming of a whole soccer team of kids to call his own.

"I could call him over. TEACH-“ Sunggyu clapped a hand over Yoonhee’s mouth.

“Ssssshhh!“

"Why?“ Yoonha asked curiously.

“Because you shouldn’t bother adults while they’re working.“

"Adul rulsh are shtoopid“

"Finish chewing before you talk!“ Sunggyu scolded his niece.

She swallowed. "I’m sorry. Do you like Teacher Woohyun?“

He coughed. "You-“

Yoonhee made a face and crossed his arms. "Ehh! But he looks like a gremlin! Especially his hands...“

Sunggyu gave his nephew a stern look. "He doesn’t look like a gremlin! What even is a gremlin?!“

The boy grinned. "So you do like him!“

He huffed and gave the boy a light shove. "Don’t talk about things your little brains can’t comprehend, you two. I don’t like him. Now eat in silence!“

It was quiet, at least for a while. Sadly, silence never lasted for long with the siblings around.

"Uncle Sunggyu, can I get ice cream?“ Yoonhee gave him a hopeful look.

"Your mom told me no ice cream today. You guys eat too many sweets.“

The boy pouted but then grinned. "TEACHER WOOH-“

Sunggyu shoved a sandwich into Yoonhee’s mouth to silence his shout. The lifeguard shortly looked their way and Sunggyu ducked although that would probably make him look suspicious in the first place. "What are you doing, Kim Yoonhee?“

"I want ice cream.“ He crossed his arms in defiance.

He gaped at his nephew. "Are you...blackmailing me?“

Yoonhee smiled innocently. Sunggyu narrowed his eyes at him and opened his mouth to speak, but then he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. "Where’s your sister? Yoonha!“

He looked around in panic but quickly found the girl with her striking pink swimsuit. She was headed straight towards the lifeguard. "Y-You wait here!“, he shouted at his nephew and ran after her.

Sunggyu felt it hard to run quickly in the sand and all the other people didn’t make it any easier. Time seemed to slow down as he dodged people left and right and jumped over discarded items in the sand. One couple shouted when he kicked sand into their food. Sunggyu sent a quick apology in his head but kept his gaze on Yoonha. It felt like she was moving much quicker, although she was just walking casually.

“Uncle S-“ Something suddenly hit him against the head and Sunggyu stumbled to the side. He lost his balance as he ran into something and he opened his eyes and mouth in shock as he fell over.

He crashed into what felt like a giant mountain of sand. Sunggyu groaned as he felt the sand getting under his clothes and into his shoes. He cursed quietly and looked around. Kids with teary eyes surrounded him and one of them started to cry. "Uwah---Mommy!“

"Our sandcastle!“

"Ahjussi! We’ve been working on it for hours!“

A shadow fell over him. "Are you okay? That looked painful.“

Sunggyu blinked against the sun and almost choked on his spit when he recognized the lifeguard. He jumped up but swayed a little when a spell of dizziness surprised him. The lifeguard grabbed his arm. "That ball hit you pretty hard. Be careful.“

"I’m fine. Sorry about that.“

The lifeguard chuckled. "Sorry about what?“

He glanced at the kids. Woohyun smiled and crouched down to console the crying kid. „Don’t cry, Minnie. This hyung didn’t mean it, okay? He got hit by a ball and your sandcastle might have actually saved his life.“

It was definitely an exaggeration but the boy’s eyes shone brightly. "It did?“

"Yes. You guys saved his life with your sandcastle. Be very proud of your stable construction.“

Just like that the children were cheering again. Sunggyu was in awe. The lifeguard sure knew how to handle kids. Woohyun stood up again and smiled at him. "Is your head really okay?“

He cleared his throat and patted his clothes to get rid of the sand. "I’m okay. Just stood up too quickly there.“

"Uncle Sunggyu!!“ Two small arms wrapped around his leg. Sunggyu smiled at his niece and ruffled her hair. "I’m okay, Yoonha.“

"Oh! Isn’t that little Yoonha?“ The lifeguard exclaimed in surprise.

She looked up and nodded shyly. "Hi.“

Yoonhee appeared at his side as well and Sunggyu absentmindedly wondered if anyone was watching their stuff. Probably not. "Hello, Teacher Woohyun!“

"Oh, Yoonhee as well. Then you must be Jieun’s brother. Sunggyu, right?“ The lifeguard smiled widely and bowed shortly "I’ve heard a lot about you but we’ve never met. I’m their swimming teacher, Nam Woohyun.“

He froze for a second and glanced at his niece and nephew. Sweat ran down his neck. "T-That’s me. I hope you heard only good things.“

"Of course, Yoonha and Yoonhee love their uncle a lot.“ Sunggyu suppressed a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Sunggyu is the best!“ Yoonha cheered happily. Yoonha, my little angel, uncle will buy you as much ice cream as you want!

"And he loves to swim! Just like you!“ Yoonhee added with enthusiasm.

Sunggyu’s eyes widened slightly as the lifeguard laughed. "Is that so? Didn’t you mention before he hates water?“

Kim Yoonhee! The little boy looked around nervously. "Uh, I mean- He WOULD love to know how to swim. He’s scared of water because he can’t! But maybe you could teach him!“

I CAN SWIM! Sunggyu glared at his nephew but quickly stopped when Woohyun laughed and looked at him. "Well, usually I only teach kids but maybe I can make an exception.“

„Actually, I-“ Yoonhee kicked against his shin. „-sure, that sounds great.“

The lifeguard chuckled. "But not today. I got to get back to work, actually. Do you have your phone with you?“

Sunggyu took it out of his pocket in a trance and unlocked it with jittery fingers. Woohyun typed his number into the device and then handed it back to him. "There you go. You can text me later, so I have your number.“ He waved at them and then jogged away to get back to work.

He watched the man’s backside and bit his lip. Those tight swimming trunks were a crime. He gnawed on his lower lip. Sunggyu would really love to put his hands on that butt one day. Call him a pervert if you want.

Yoonhee grinned at him. "Can we get ice cream now?“

Sunggyu narrowed his eyes at his nephew. "So I can’t swim now?“

The boy pouted. "I had to improvise.“

He sighed. Suddenly, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Sunggyu shook his shoulders and looked around nervously. Yoonha gave him a curious look. "Are you okay, Uncle Sunggyu?“

“I just felt like someone was watching me...“ And it felt like they wanted to kill me.

His phone suddenly vibrated and he jumped a little. Sunggyu willed his heart to calm down and looked at the new message.

[How dare you use my children to pick up men at the beach. You’re dead, Kim Sunggyu.]

His eyes widened and he looked around in panic once more. There! In the distance, he spotted a figure next to a tree. Sunggyu swallowed hard.

[It’s not like that, I swear!!]

[There’s no need to deny it! I saw you hitting on my kids’ hot swimming teacher! I should’ve hit you harder with that ball.]

[That was you??]

[If you don’t go on a date with him and marry him, I’ll have your balls. My kids love that man and I love that ass. What a sight!]

[Jieun! You have a husband. What are you doing staring at another man’s butt?]

[If you tell my husband, you’re dead. Also, don’t forget: no ice cream!]

The figure walked away and Sunggyu sighed deeply. The siblings looked at him curiously. "Ice cream?“

Well, he was dead already, wasn’t he? She couldn’t kill him twice. "Sure, let’s go, kids.“


End file.
